Endless Night
by DarkAngel19881
Summary: Naruto longs for a family, not expecting to find one in Team 7


Endless Night

Naruto stared at his blue eyed reflection in the broken mirror. He had recently learned that the man he admired so much was actually his father. Having seen a picture of the man Naruto could see that he looked a lot like the Fourth Hokage.

As he stared at the image in the mirror, Naruto watched a tear slip from his eye and make a path down his face. Naruto could see the pain in his eyes and he wished more than anything that he had a family, that he could tell about his problems. You see Naruto was orphaned when he was just a baby, and because the Fourth Hokage had sealed the Nine Tailed Demon inside of Naruto, no one wanted to care for him or even be his friend.

Naruto had worked hard for the last sixteen years to become someone that the village could be proud of, and while many did respect him, there were still a few that wish he would disappear off of the planet. Earlier that day, Naruto had gone shopping for weapons to replace his dwindling stock. He had stopped to look at some shock tags, thinking about adding some to his collection of weapons. When he had been shoved hard from behind, sending shock tags and Naruto sprawling on the floor. Naruto had looked up just in time to see a foot headed straight for his face, startled Naruto had ducked and had missed that foot, but he didn't miss the one that had been aimed for his ribs.

Gasping as the air was knocked out of his lungs, he could only try to avoid the kicks and punches thrown his way.

"You're a monster" One of the attackers had yelled and had quickly kicked Naruto in his ribs again, sending even more pain crashing over the young ninja. While trying to form the signs for shadow clones, one of the attackers grabbed his hand and pulled it back until a sharp popping sound was heard and even more pain flooded Naruto's senses. Crying out in pain, Naruto tried to avoid being kicked again, only for a foot to connect with the back of his head, sending stars through his vision.

"Try to make shadow clones now" Naruto heard his attacker sneer, and Naruto moaned in pain unsure of how much more that he could handle. Feeling something sharp being dragged across his wrist, Naruto can only stare as the attacker slits his uninjured wrist, Naruto felt the blood well up even as the fox struggled to heal him.

"Your father was wrong, you're not a hero. You're just a weak, evil monster." the man taunted and kicked Naruto hard in the ribs again, causing another popping sound and Naruto cried out, begging them to stop.

Crying out in pain, Naruto heaved an agony filled cough and blood burst beyond his lips and he knew the villagers were causing too much damage for the fox to heal at once. The demon was trying to heal him but as soon as one wound was healed two more appeared on his body. The fox couldn't continue this way, unless he wanted to face chakra exhaustion. Naruto could only hope that his friends or teammates just happened to come by otherwise, he feared the villagers would kill him.

"What the hell do you think you're going?" a barely conscious Naruto heard.

"Sakura" Naruto whispered as he closed his eyes.

 _"_ _Naruto, my son" Naruto heard the voice of the Fourth Hokage. Opening his eyes Naruto stared into a face that looked much like his own._

 _"Dad" he mumbled wondering whether he was dead. He had to be if he was seeing his father, his father had died the day that Naruto had been born. "Am I dead?" Naruto asked, surprised that there was no pain._

 _"_ _No, you're not dead." Minato replied "you are deeply unconscious at the moment. What happened for you to end up this way?"_

 _"I was cornered while looking at shock tags." Naruto replied bitterly and Minato waited for Naruto to continue. "The villagers attacked me because of Nine Tails." Naruto swallowed hard and shook his head. "_ _After everything I have done for the village and I still don't have their respect."_

 _"I am sorry for the heavy burden I have placed on your shoulders. But I knew that you would be able to handle it, it would make you become strong, and I know that you can still keep going even when its hard."_ _Minato said as he reached over and pulled Naruto in for a hug. "I want you to know that anytime you call my name, I will be with you." Minato promised softly "When your days are lonely and bad and you feel alone. I am with you in your heart and I will never leave you." Minato pressed a gentle kiss to Naruto's forehead. "It's time for you to go back now, you're friends are worried about you."_

 _"_ _I love you my son, never forget how much I love you. Remember I am always with you." Minato's voice started fading away as Naruto heard another voice calling his name._

"Naruto" he heard a panicked voice cry out as he slowly opened his eyes, and the pain that he had not been missing returned in full force. Naruto took note that his head appeared to be lying in Sakura's lap on the floor of the weapons shop, and Sasuke was kneeling down beside her, a worried frown on his face.

Naruto groaned softly as he tried to sit up.

"Be still idiot" Sasuke hissed as he forced Naruto to lie back down.

"Kakashi-Sensei went to get Lady Tsunade" Sakura said "He didn't think it was a good idea for you to be moved in the shape you are in."

"Did you forget about the fox?" Naruto asked bitterly, not forgetting why he had been attacked in the first place.

"No" Sakura replied "But he can't heal every injury. Not at once anyways."

"What happened to those guys that attacked me?" Naruto asked as he fought to keep down another cry of pain.

"They were arrested and taken to jail" Tsunade's voice spoke coldly from somewhere on Naruto's right.

"How are you feeling brat?" Tsunade asked as she knelt down beside him.

"Like crap" Naruto mumbled as he coughed and more blood came out from his mouth.

"I'm sorry they hurt you" Sakura said softly as a tear slipped down her face at another harsh cry of pain from Naruto.

"I'm going to make you feel better" Tsunade said as she placed her hands on Naruto's chest, she could feel the unmistakable give of broken ribs, and she wanted to go the jail and do the same thing to the villagers that had hurt her brat. "You certainly have some internal injuries, let's see what I can do about that."

Naruto's eyes closed as he felt the healing chakra begin to flow inside of him. He hadn't realized how sleepy he was until Tsunade had arrived.

"Don't go to sleep!" Sakura cried out, fearing for her friend's life.

"It's okay, Sakura, its a good idea to let him sleep through the worst of this process." Tsunade commented as she continued to work on the now unconscious teen. A little while later, Tsunade removed her hands and sat back, she should get him to the hospital but she knew that she had healed him well enough that he didn't really need one, it would be next to impossible to keep him in one anyways.

"He'll be okay now" she told the worried group of people that had surrounded her while she had worked on their friend and teammate. "He'll just need to rest a few days before he can resume his normal activities."

"Should he go to the hospital?" Sakura asked and Tsunade shook her head.

"He probably should, for a few days but he would only sneak out anyways so there is no point in making him stay in one."

"Sakura, and Sasuke, I want you two to help Naruto back to his apartment." Kakashi said. Still not believing what he had witnessed. He had thought hatred of the fox had been buried but apparently he had been wrong, and Naruto had paid the price for it.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto opened his eyes to see his own ceiling above his head.

"Good, you're awake" Sakura said from the chair she had been sitting in, next to the bed.

"I'm okay, Sakura, I feel a little tired but not too bad, considering the extent of my injuries. You don't have to stay with me anymore." Naruto smiled, glad that she had found him in time to save his life.  
"I just wanted to make sure you were really okay, you looked pretty bad when I found you." Sakura admitted.

"Thank you" Naruto said softly "Thank you for caring enough to stay with me."

"You don't have to thank me for that." Sakura said as tears filled her eyes. She had known that Naruto hadn't had many people in his life that had truly cared for him and it broke her heart. Everyone should have someone that cared for them.

Naruto smiled softly and reached out and gently brushed the tears away. Sakura smiled and reached up and gently held his hand.

"You always look better with a smile on your face." Naruto commented as Sakura slowly released his hand, and he let it fall back to his side.

"Can I do anything for you before I leave?" Sakura asked as she watched Naruto climb to his feet.

"I'm good, honest" he told Sakura. Once she had left his apartment the loneliness came rushing back. He hated feeling like this but he couldn't let Sakura spend all of her time with him, he was sure she had things that she needed to be doing.

"Dad," Naruto murmured as he started towards the bathroom. "Why am I always so alone?" Naruto knew he would not hear his father's voice but he wished that he could.

Passing a window, Naruto was shocked when a rock came flying through, shattering the glass and hitting Naruto hard in the back of the head. Groaning Naruto shook his head, trying to clear the stars from his vision. He had worked hard to protect them and this was the thanks he got? It was beyond ridiculous.

"Where are you now dad?" Naruto muttered as he entered the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, Naruto stared at his reflection that looked like his father.

Taking his fist, Naruto slammed it into the mirror, shattering it. He was beyond angry at the words his dream father had told him. Did Minato know how much Naruto needed him? He wanted his father's love so much that it hurt.

"You promised you would be there

Whenever I needed you

whenever I called your name

you're not anywhere

I am trying to hold on

just waiting to hear your voice

one word just one word would do

to end this nightmare."

Naruto sunk to the floor, and pulled his knees up to his chest, the pain of wanting a family more than he could stand. Burying his face in his knees, tears poured down his face, and he sobbed harshly on the floor.

Hearing footsteps in his apartment, Naruto looked up when the footsteps stopped outside his bathroom. Naruto was surprised to find: Kakashi and Sasuke and Sakura standing before him. Seeing Naruto's red rimmed eyes, Sakura felt like crying.

"Oh, Naruto" she murmured as she entered the bathroom and sat down beside Naruto amongst the broken glass. Putting her arms around him, she pulled Naruto in for a hug. Sasuke and Kakashi crowded into the bathroom beside them.

"I know your lonely and you want your family." Kakashi said quietly "while we can't take the place of the ones you lost, if you let us, we can be your family. We'll be here to listen to your worries, to cheer you on when you need encouragement." Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder "We're hear for you Naruto, you don't have to be lonely anymore.

THE END

(Maybe)

 **AN:**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing. I was listening to a song and the idea for this story would not leave me alone so I sat down and wrote it. I personally love it, I love the idea of Team 7 being a family for Naruto. If you can look up the song Endless Night (lion king on broadway soundtrack) that song was the biggest inspiration for this story and I use some of the lyrics in the story. It would of course be best if you listened to the song while reading the story. Anyways thanks again for enjoying.**


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